ECSA urges clarification on scrubber rules

The installation of exhaust scrubbers on ships is one of the few abatement technologies available to reduce the sulphur content in emissions. However, a lack of clarity in EU rules jeopardises their uptake, according to ECSA.

“Not only does the current uncertainty jeopardise investments already made by operators, it also hampers the commissioning of future installations, while time is dangerously running out,” pointed out Patrick Verhoeven, ECSA secretary-general.

Clarifications are urgently needed regarding the classification of the scrubber water discharges in the provisions of the EU Water Framework Directive, which foresees a progressive reduction for some pollutants and a complete phasing out for others, ECSA highlighted.

As a result, due to a lack of accurate information on the composition of these discharges, there is currently very high uncertainty on whether the operation of some scrubbers will be allowed in close proximity to the shore, it added.

“We urge the Commission and the Member States to clarify these points lest some operators start retrofitting their ships too late to be compliant with the new rules by 01 January 2015,” Verhoeven said.

The EU Sulphur Directive is set to come into force on 01 January 2015. The new sulphur requirements impose that ships sailing in the ECAs (Emission Control Areas - the Channel, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea) use bunker fuels with a sulphur content of maximum 0.1% or that the same level of emissions is reached by the use of alternative fuels or compliant abatement technologies.

The ECSA also said that countries within the EU have different rules when it comes to discharges of water used by the scrubbers to filter ship exhaust gases. While some countries allow water discharges close to their shore, others do not, while in some others strict conditionality applies.

“Policy makers should work towards a more coherent approach both at EU and national level as concerns the conditions under which this technology can be used in the different Member States,” Verhoeven said.

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